dj bean

On a record-setting night, vintage Wakefield shines

Tim Wakefield, as both statistics and every fan who professes to “always get Wakefield” when attending a Red Sox game would indicate, has frequented the pitcher's mound at Fenway Park unlike any other. He’s started (201 times), relieved (76 times) and been an invaluable member of the pitching staff since coming to the Sox in 1995.

His start Friday night, in which he surpassed Roger Clemens for the most games started at Fenway, was Wakefield at his finest: innings above all, and a low-enough scoring game to give his team a chance to win when the opponents’ guy was just as good. With both pitchers sailing into the eighth inning of a 2-2 game, Wakefield was able to silence the Orioles’ bats in economic fashion, needing 96 pitches to complete his eight frames and eventually earn a 3-2 win on his record-breaking night. (Recap.)

It seemed only fitting that on a night in which the spotlight shined a little brighter on the 43-year-old, Wakefield gave his team a win and kept it from needing more than one reliever to wrap up the victory. Reflecting on the win and his time in Boston after the game, Wakefield identified what his 201st start in Fenway really means.

“It just means I’m old and I’ve been around awhile,” Wakefield told amused reporters following the game. “It’s an honor to have that next to your name, all-time starts at Fenway. I didn’t realize it was that many starts, considering my career I’ve been used as everything, so it’s kind of cool to be able to pass Roger again as most starts in Fenway Park. It’s pretty cool.”

Wakefield is no stranger to the Red Sox record books. The knuckleballer holds franchise records both good (starts) and, in true knuckleball fashion, bad (wild pitches). Still, the assurance Wakefield has been able to provide throughout his time in Boston – granted, the most recent one came against a team with a .256 batting average – has been nothing short of astounding.

Prior to the game, manager Terry Francona noted that he has not managed a team this snake-bitten with injuries since 2006, a club that spun out of control late in the season and went 21-33 in its final 54 games. Francona, who identified the ’06 team as being far different from this season’s squad, pointed out that a big part of the problem four years ago was that it was the pitching staff that couldn’t stay healthy.

It was in the ’06 season that Wakefield was out from mid-July to mid-September. Though he has remained healthy this season, it should come as no surprise that as a knuckleball pitcher, he is directly linked to the injury concerns of the Red Sox. Having to throw to a catcher who hasn’t caught him since 2008, Wakefield and Kevin Cash were able to get through the night with just one miscue, a seventh-inning passed ball.

“I don’t know if it’s enjoyable to have all these injuries,” Wakefield said of winning with much of the roster ailing. “It’s a challenge, obviously, but everyone in that clubhouse believes in each other. We’ve got to fill some holes that are left by injuries right now and everyone down there is willing to accept that responsibility and keep moving forward.”

A responsibility that Wakefield has taken great pride in accepting throughout his time in Boston has been the consumption of innings, something that he did virtually to the fullest against the Orioles. It was, in fact, quite apparent that his night didn’t necessarily need to end following his 96th pitch. Francona said following the game that had Daniel Nava not hit the game-winning bloop single to right field, Wakefield would have gone out to begin the ninth and the starter, who was working at characteristically brisk pace, agreed.

“I felt fresh even after eight innings,” Wakefield said. “I don’t know how many pitches I had – 90-something? I was ready to go the ninth and maybe even the 10th if necessary.”

Cash praised Wakefield throughout postgame interviews for staying sharp throughout the night. Though some may be willing to point to the performance being a case of Cash and Wakefield re-establishing a rhythm, the catcher – who came into Boston not knowing he was set to catch a historic start – was unwilling to take any of the credit.

“I didn’t know that [Wakefield was breaking Clemens’ record], but if he pitches like that, he’ll get a lot of wins,” Cash said. “You could have had anybody back there and he was outstanding. Everything was working.”

Little about the 2010 season has gone precisely according to expectations for the Red Sox, primarily due to the injuries that have swept the club. Yet as so many others have fallen, there was a degree of reassurance provided by the familiar -- and record-setting -- sight of Wakefield on the mound. With all the surprises that his club has encountered, Wakefield continues to prove that despite the proverbial curveballs the Sox may face, they remain in good hands with the knuckleball.

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